Penske Racing driver Ryan Briscoe not only gave Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and local media rides in the HP 2-seater on Monday at the IMS, but he also took time to "experience" the view from the passenger seat.

Governor, Briscoe Highlight Special 2-Seater Day at IMS
Penske Racing's Ryan Briscoe hopped in the HP 2-seater for the first time Monday and gave rides to several Indianapolis media as well as Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels

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INDIANAPOLIS (July 20, 2009) – Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels picked a perfect day Monday to ride on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, both on his Harley Davidson motorcycle and in the back of the Hewlett-Packard Indy Racing Experience 2-seater.  Along with several media personalities, Daniels was treated to an afternoon of racing as Mobil 1 and its Penske Racing drivers Ryan Briscoe and Sam Hornish, Jr., provided memorable rides around the famed Brickyard.

The Indiana Governor, who arrived in style by cruising around Victory Lane and stopping his Harley short of the Yard of Bricks just off pit lane, still left blown away after experiencing a 2-seater ride for the second time.

“In Indiana anything that goes fast we like, and you can’t get much faster than that,” he said.  “It was fantastic.  Try to imagine doing that on a crowded track 20-30 miles per hour faster; it’s beyond comprehension.”

The ride was extra special for Daniels since Briscoe, who is currently third in the IndyCar Series standings, piloted the popular Indy Racing Experience machine for the first time.

In fact, prior to his first passenger ride, Briscoe opted to sit in the back seat of the HP 2-seater and get an understanding for what his riders would soon feel. 

It didn’t take long for him to return to the pilot’s seat.

“Before I drove the car today I actually wanted to sit in that back seat and get a feeling for what it would be like,” Briscoe said.  “I sat down there and thought, ‘Well, you wouldn’t want to be claustrophobic,’ and the first passenger I get gets in there and gets claustrophobic and jumps back out.”

That first passenger was Indiana Pacers head coach Jim O’Brien.

“I’m just claustrophobic, plain and simple,” O’Brien said.

ABC/ESPN pit reporter Vince Welch was quick to take rides in both the IndyCar and NASCAR 2-seat machines, the latter of which was driven by Hornish.  Welch, who will be on ESPN’s broadcast of this Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, likened both experiences to roller coaster rides.

“It’s like going to Kings Island and getting on the old wooden roller coaster and feeling the speed as well as all the bumps,” Welch said of the his stock car ride.  “The IndyCar 2-seater sticks to the ground so much that it reminds of me of the newer roller coasters that are fast and hug the rails.”

In Briscoe’s eyes, the Indy Racing Experience 2-seater closely resembles that of his No. 6 Team Penske Honda.

“This 2-seater ride program is great and a very good representation of what we feel out there in our own race cars,” he said.

Of all the rides Briscoe gave on Monday, none was probably more enjoyable than the one he gave to Curt Cavin, the Indianapolis Star’s IndyCar beat writer.  Briscoe even enjoyed a chuckle in the cockpit when he saw Cavin decked out in his Delphi/National Guard fire suit, while all the other passengers donned the HP Z Workstation gear.

“Is that Dan Wheldon?” Briscoe quipped.

Actually, Cavin had another driver on his mind during his ride.

“You can know too much about this place,” he said.  “You go into (Turn) 3 and remember how (Tony) Kanaan lost the backend with suspension failure (in this year’s Indy 500).  You just can’t fathom the grip.”

And while Cavin was thinking about other drivers on the track, Daniels prompted a laugh from the media in attendance when he said he was thinking about the average guy who thinks driving one of these cars is easy.

“Every American male thinks he can do certain things well, and driving a car fast is one,” he said.  “Most of us don’t have a clue what being good at that means, but you get a little clue when you do this.”

About Us: Founded in 2001, the Indy Racing Experience provides fans the ultimate opportunity of a lifetime by experiencing the high speeds of IndyCar racing with our purposed-built 2-seater and cars that participated in the Indianapolis 500.  The Indy Racing Experience operates daily at the Walt Disney World Speedway, more than 20 dates annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and at every IndyCar Series track in North America each year. Experiential Marketing Incorporated is an experiential marketing company dedicated to providing clients innovative marketing units designed to enhance brand identity.  Through its show car program, interactive marketing trailers and simulators, as well as its quality custom fabrication shop, EMI has expanded its client base to include some of the top organizations affiliated with the IndyCar Series, NASCAR, NBA and NFL. Indy Parts provides quality parts and service to teams in the IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Light series, and is the sole North American distributor for Dallara – a worldwide automobile designer and manufacturer for a number of premier motorsports series.